Sophie's Reflections on her Placement Year with Building Self-Belief

When I started my placement at Building Self Belief CIO, I knew I wanted to gain practical experience working with children and young people, particularly around mental health and wellbeing, with the hope of becoming a Clinical Psychologist in the future. What I did not anticipate was just how much working for the charity would shape me, both personally and professionally. Over the past year, I have grown in confidence, developed my skills and gained a much clearer understanding of the kind of work I would love to pursue after university.

The Highlights

One of the highlights of my placement was helping deliver two 12 week wellbeing programmes with groups of girls from North Durham Academy and Harton Academy. I helped lead conversations and activities around topics including confidence, friendships, body image, sleep and negative thinking, while encouraging the girls to share their own experiences and explore strategies that could help them manage different challenges. As I got to know I found myself applying skills that are particularly relevant to my career aspirations, including active listening, building rapport and adapting my communication to each individual. Having the time to understanding each girl as an individual and see how they developed throughout the programme showed me the importance of looking at the whole person rather than focusing solely on their difficulties. I also had the opportunity to write individual case studies about the young people I supported, documenting their experiences and progress throughout the programme. This allowed me to reflect more closely on the changes I had observed and recognise progress that may not have been obvious from one session to the next. It strengthened my ability to observe, reflect and communicate information clearly and sensitively, while also giving me a real sense of how rewarding it can be to support young people as their confidence develops.

Being Adaptable

One of the biggest things Building Self Belief has taught me and something I know will be important in my future career, is the importance of adapting my approach to the individual. I had the opportunity to work across such a wide range of settings, with people of different ages and backgrounds, including those with additional and behavioural needs, both one to one and in larger groups. Delivering programmes in both primary and secondary schools and working with young people with diverse needs and experiences, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, made me particularly aware of how important it was to be attentive to what each individual needed. Sometimes this meant offering encouragement, giving someone more time to respond or providing clearer boundaries, but it was always about finding an approach that helped each person feel supported and able to take part. Learning to be flexible and responsive to the person in front of me is something I will carry forward into my future career, particularly in Clinical Psychology. 

Toastie Tuesdays

In contrast, my role at BSB’s very own ‘Toastie Tuesday’ was much less about structured activities or achieving a particular outcome. The weekly event gave me the opportunity to help older and socially isolated members of the community with digital tasks, such as setting up the NHS app on their phone, or in one case, helping an individual create a Ancestry account to explore their DNA origins. However, some people would simply come for the social side of the event and to have a friendly face to talk to. I really valued these conversations and saw how important having a regular place to go and people to talk to could can have a real impact. It was a quite different side of the work I was doing with young people, but one that I found equally meaningful.

The Importance of Creativity

My placement Involved so much more than I could have imagined and I loved having the chance to get involved in different sides of the charity. I helped plan and deliver activities for our youth club, created worksheets and resources for programmes and helped bring our projects to life through films, posters and anthologies. Being artistic, the create side was something I particularly enjoyed and I loved seeing projects such as ‘Celebrating Stanley’, ‘Commemorating the Stargate Pit Disaster’ and the ‘North Shields Youth Employability and Financial Literacy Programme’ come together. It was incredibly rewarding to see something I had helped create become a lasting record of the projects and the young people involved.

Gaining Confidence

One of the things I have particularly valued about working at Building Self Belief is the trust I was given to get involved, share my ideas and take on responsibility. I was never made to feel like just a placement student. I was continually encouraged to contribute, try new things and take ideas from the initial thought stage through to something real. Having that freedom and support made a huge difference to my confidence. Looking back, one of my biggest takeaways is learning to trust my own ideas and being much more willing to put myself out there.

Confident Capable and Certain

Working towards my Psychology degree has given my the academic knowledge behind mental health and behaviour, but Building Self Belief has allowed me to experience the human side of it. I have seen first hand the difference that creating the right environment and giving someone the opportunity to believe in themselves can make. I am so grateful to Christine, Peter, Grace and Ella for making the past year so special and for making my placement my favourite part of my university experience! Being able to play even a small part in the work of Building Self Belief has been incredibly rewarding and I am leaving my placement feeling more confident, capable and certain that I want to build a career supporting the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people. I am looking forward to continuing my work with Building Self-Belief over the next academic year.